Tasty Teochew this Chinese New Year

 

It happened that one of the buah tangan someone presented to my sister on Chinese New Year eve this year was several pieces of steamed Teochew Thor kueh, the paisley shaped savoury delicacy stuffed with glutinous rice, dried prawns, sliced mushroom and braised peanuts.

 

My grand-niece, Audrey Loh, enjoying a game
of Snakes and Ladders, during a visit here

It is not only a Chinese tradition but a very Asian practice to never visit a home empty-handed. Particularly for Chinese New Year, visitors always arrived with a pair of Mandarin oranges and in many cases, some festive or traditional treats.

 

So on the morning of the first day of Chinese New Year, I had the privilege to eat this gift of Teochew kueh also known as P’ng kueh, comfortably warmed up in the steamer, with my hot coffee.

 

Looking back on the festive food we enjoyed in the first few days of this Chinese New Year, I noted that much of the delicacies we savoured were typically Teochew cuisine.

 

Teochew kueh known as Thor kway
or P'ng kway, is a firm favourite of ours

To better understand the origin of Teochew culture and Teochew food in the Chinese community of Johor, we must return to that time in Johor history when Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim, the father of Sultan Abu Bakar, invited the Chinese from Singapore and the Riau Islands to open up land in Johor for pepper and gambier plantations.

 

These Chinese were planters who have cultivated their lands with pepper and gambier plantations for more than 15 years, were at a stage when the land was exhausted and they were ready to seek new land to continue their planting pursuits.

 

In 1844, the Ngee Heng Society leader, Tan Kee Soon, led his followers to settle in Johor, mainly in the area which is still known as Kangkar Tebrau.

 

The Teochew was the dominant dialect group among the Chinese, made up of Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka and Hainanese, who came to Johor mainly to cultivate pepper and gambier under the kangchu system and made Johor their new home. 

 

By the mid 1800’s, as more Teochew people immigrated here, Teochew culture flourished in Johor and Johor Baru earned its nickname as, Little Swatow.

 

Mandarin oranges are an essential
item for the Chinese New Year
 

Swatow (Teochew) or Shantou (Mandarin) is one of the Teochew districts of the Guangdong province in China, the hometown of most of Johor’s Teochew population.

 

Chaozhou is a major cultural center of the Chaoshan region in Guangdong so the descendants of overseas Chaoshan immigrants are often called, Chaozhou or Teochew people.

 

I first heard the word, Swatow when I listened to a conversation in our grandfather’s house during the Chinese New Year season – many, many years ago – when there was a discussion about Mandarin oranges and someone claimed that the Mandarin oranges from Swatow was simply the best.

 

At that time, I had no idea what that word meant and why they insisted that the preferred choice of Mandarin oranges was those from Swatow. I guessed that all Mandarin oranges were imported from China so Swatow must be somewhere there.

 

It was much later that I learned that Mandarin oranges from Swatow were the small, sweet and juicy oranges that came, shipped in rough wooden crates.

 

I realised that size did not matter but the quality and taste of the oranges did and I guessed, probably also because there was an unspoken loyalty to Swatow.

 

A 'live' Teochew Opera show

Grandfather, our Ah Kong, was Teochew so my first exposure to Teochew culture was also at grandfather’s house when I listened to the Teochew opera that he so enjoyed, played on the turntable from vinyl records.

 

With a Sei Yap origin, our grandmother spoke Cantonese and she enjoyed watching Cantonese opera screened regularly on the family’s Black & White television.

 

By comparing the sight and sound of these two types of Chinese opera, I learned to distinguish a distinct difference between Teochew and Cantonese operas, not only in costumes but also in the music and operatic singing styles.

 

My early exposure to Chinese opera through our grandparents sparked my curiosity and interest in this traditional artform and entertainment that the Chinese brought along as they settled in new lands throughout South East Asia. Over the years, I had the privilege to cover many stories on Chinese Opera, in particular Teochew opera in Johor.

 

Later I also discovered that the Johor Old Temple has an annual tradition to celebrate the birthday of the Teochew deity, Yuan Tuan Shang Di or Tuah Lau Yiah, on the third day of the third lunar month in an event dubbed, Lunar 303.

 

As I learned more about Teochew culture in Johor and the Teochew food heritage here, I was pleased to document a story, Johor Bahru, our Little Swatow, in My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People.

 

In the olden days, our grandmother had a tradition of cooking up a storm for the family’s annual reunion dinner. [Back then, there was no such thing as ordering-in food!] She had the help of daughters-in-law in an annual family cook-up and among the dishes in her repertoire of festive food was our family favourite of Teochew braised duck.

 

Even as I write this, I can recall the buzz of activity for food preparation in the kitchen of No. 154 Jalan Ngee Heng to serve at the reunion dinner and the distinct dark-sauce, caramel aroma of the braised duck sauce that wafted through the house.

 

At our grandmother’s 100^th birthday celebration, among the souvenirs that were shared with family and friends were written recipes for Grandmother’s Teochew Braised Duck, lor ark (Teochew/Hokkien dialect) and her much-loved steamed Cantonese Egg Custard dessert, thunn tarn (Cantonese dialect).

 

Grandmother, the Real Champion, passed away at the ripe old age of 103. Thankfully, her daughters have mastered the art of recreating family favourites for the next generation family members to savour and reminisce over grandmother’s prized recipes.

 

Ducks braising in the wok;
Photo and cooking by Aunty Polly

My mother, being the eldest daughter, have acquired grandmother’s skills to prepare grandmother’s recipes and our family were blessed to often enjoy these favourites over the years.

 

Now at the ripe old age of 92, mum has hung up her apron for good while her younger sister, Aunty Polly, who has also acquired similar skills in making Teochew braised duck, continues with this family tradition.

 

In the days ahead of Chinese New Year, Aunty Polly – who has also picked up skills in using the phone camera and sending photographs through WhatsApp – shared a shot of her giant wok or kwali with not one but two ducks, being braised over a stove.

 

Teochew braised duck made by Aunty Polly
using grandmother's recipe

We always say, “It’s the thought that counts,” but in this case, Aunty not only had the thought but also the love-in-action as she made the effort to reprise grandmother’s recipe of Teochew braised duck, not only for her family but also to present to her eldest sister (our mother!) and family (us!) in Johor Bahru.

 

This braised bird was cooled and securely packed in layers of cling film, aluminium foil and plastic, before being stored in deep freeze along with a jar of its rich gravy.

 

A few days later, this frozen bird was hand-carried to Johor Bahru and safely stored away for my mother (and her family!) to savour at leisure, after the festive visitors had left.

 

At the dawn of the New Year, my mother’s two sisters – Aunty Polly and Aunty Sylvia – with their families, braved the festive traffic to visit us from Kuala Lumpur.

 

Johor Teochew comfort food: Kway Chap
 

And while they were in Johor Bahru, one of the must-eat Teochew specialties was a hearty serving of Kway Chap, a local favourite of rice noodles in dark herbal soup eaten with side dishes like slices of braised bean-curd, braised pork belly, innards and hardboiled eggs.

 

This business was open during the festive period for fans of this Teochew dish who were (back) in Johor Bahru, to savour an authentic and familiar taste – they claim – that was only available here and no-where else.

 

Since the global pandemic and long periods of lockdown, the Asian Food Network or AFN, is among the television channels that I often enjoyed watching with my mother.

 

Recently, I watched an episode that featured a Teochew restaurant in Johor, Chao Shan in Indahpura, Kulai. The name, Chaoshan is a contraction of the names of two cities in the Guangdong region, Chaozhou and Shantou.

 

When I mentioned this discovery to my former classmate, Phoebe Chua, who happened to be Teochew, she told me that her family were regulars at a Chao Shan branch restaurant opened in Desa Cemerlang, close to their neighbourhood.

 

During my Chinese New Year visit with her recently, she suggested that we have lunch at Chao Shan and I did not hesitate to say, “Yes!”

 

While this Teochew restaurant was headquartered in Kulai, two branch restaurants were opened, one in Desa Cemerlang and the other in Aeon Tebrau City Mall.

 

We were pleased to arrive ahead of lunchtime because we saw the dining crowd trickling in shortly after and occupied all the tables within the air-conditioned dining hall. Those who arrived later were directed to sit at tables arranged in the alfresco section.

 

Teochew stir-fried Kway Teow served
at Chao Shan restaurant

I was pleased to see that the menu was designed with plenty of photographs of the dishes to give diners a visual idea of how that dish should look like.

 

As we discussed the choice of dishes to order, Phoebe advised us to skip ordering any dessert because she had a portion of homemade Teochew dessert for us to enjoy later when we visited her at home. With such a sweet anticipation, we turned our attention to tasting the dishes we ordered.

 

While I was familiar with Teochew dishes, I was delighted to savour a highly recommended Teochew-style stir-fried Kway Teow that turned out to be quite unlike the street-food-style char kway teow.

 

At the first taste of this Teochew stir-fried Kway Teow, I tasted the agreeable, smoky wok-hei umami along with the crunchy texture of toasted chai poh or preserved radish and chunks of deep-fried pork lard, a perfect foil with the smooth rice noodles and minced pork.

 

A serving of homemade Or Nee
made in a traditional family recipe

After a satisfying lunch, a short drive to Phoebe’s home allowed the meal to settle with just enough room for us to enjoy hot coffee and festive sweets.

 

Yes, there was also room for the much anticipated homemade Or Nee, a warm Teochew dessert of yam paste topped with a slice of pumpkin and a drizzle of shallot oil, made in the tradition of a recipe that belonged to Phoebe’s father.

 

As its sweetness lingered in my mouth, it reminded me of family traditions and unity, everything that Chinese New Year means and this year, with just a little more of a Teochew taste.

 

There are 15 days of Chinese New Year and not too late to wish you, Happy Chinese New Year, as we look forward to more feasting and celebrations. Kongxi! Kongxi!